SSD

SSD

An SSD is an excellent alternative or supplement to the classic hard disk for installation in your PC. SSDs are characterised by a compact design, as no moving parts are installed. This makes them silent and less prone to errors during operation. In addition, SSDs, as flash-based storage media, offer very fast read and write rates.
To ensure that you can install a suitable SSD in your PC, it is important to check the connections on your mainboard before buying. The usual interfaces for installing an SSD are PCIe, SATA, mSATA and U.2. Depending on the design of the case or mainboard, the correct form factor of the SSD must also be taken into account. The storage capacity is another important factor in the purchase decision. For home office use, 500 gigabytes are sufficient. If there is to be enough space for games, at least 1-2 terabytes are recommended. The most important types of SSDs and their intended use are described below.

M.2 SSDs convince with a high read and write rate of up to > 3000 MB/s and a compact design. Since the M.2 SSD is installed directly on the mainboard, nothing else needs to be wired. The interface for an M.2 SSD is either SATA or PCIe. To achieve the highest possible read and write rates, an M.2 SSD with PCIe interface is the preferred choice.

SATA SSDs are among the most widespread SSDs on the market. They achieve a read and write rate of up to > 500 MB/s and are usually cheaper to purchase than an M.2 SSD. The SATA SSD is installed in the PC case in a 2.5 inch drive bay.

mSATA SSDs, which stands for mini-SATA, are suitable for notebooks or tablets as a cheaper alternative to the M.2 SSD due to their space-saving design. The technology of mSATA SSDs is based on the SATA standard, which is why they can achieve the same read and write rates as a SATA SSD.

PCIe Card SSDs are plugged directly into the PCIe slot, similar to a graphics card, and therefore do not need to be wired. Through the PCIe interface, speeds of > 3000 MB/s are also achieved.

U.2 SSDs are the newest types of SSDs and use the 2.5 inch form factor. They are able to communicate using the NVMe protocol. Through the connection via PCIe interface, a U.2 SSD can also achieve read and write speeds of > 3000 MB/s.